Ohio senators heard public testimony in the wake of harsh criticisms against the GOP-led initiative. A Republican representative filed an alternative bill that would preserve the majority of what was approved by voters at the ballot. However, there are some exceptions, such as a ban on adult sharing of cannabis.
The Senate General Government Committee reconvened Tuesday, one day after it gave its initial approval of the cannabis overhaul bill by voting to attach it with a non-related House-passed measure. It heard testimony from business owners and advocates, as well as legalization opponents.
The law, which Senate President Matt Huffman(R) hopes will be brought to the floor by Wednesday before it becomes legal on Thursday, would make significant changes to the voter-passed initiative statute.
It would, for example, eliminate the option of home growing for adults, criminalize marijuana possession and use outside of licensed retailers, lower the possession limit, increase the cannabis sales tax, and redirect funding from social equity programs to law enforcement. The bill contains other substantive amendments relating to THC limitations, public consumption and hemp-related rules. According to stakeholders, these changes would “devastate the market”.
The proposal has been sharply criticized by advocates, who claim that it is disrespectful to the voters’ will, particularly in relation to the elimination of home cultivation, and the changes made to the possession rules.
Mike DeWine (R) has insisted that voters only support the fundamental principle of legalizing marijuana, without necessarily supporting specific policies around issues such as tax revenue. Mike DeWine, (R), has insisted that voters only support the principle of legalizing cannabis and not necessarily specific policies such as tax revenues.
The committee chair, Sen. Michael Rulli(R), told the room full of witnesses on Tuesday that he strongly suggested that they “lower their temperature.” He assured them that legislators “understand the issues with homegrown products and taxes and we’ll fix it and we will get the peoples’ wishes.”
Rulli, along with other members of the committee, asked witnesses how best to mitigate the illicit cannabis market. One suggestion was to allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling to adult customers before licensed recreational retailers were in place.
The chairman expressed an interest in addressing the lack regulations surrounding hemp-based intoxicating product, but he stated that it is unlikely to be addressed under the bill they are working on given the accelerated timeline.
The panel heard from representatives of advertising agencies who opposed the bill’s ban on billboards for cannabis businesses. They said the industry should follow the same rules that apply to alcohol.
Bill DeMora, a Democrat from California, said that ignoring the knowledge of voters is a bad idea. He was responding to his colleagues who were pushing for major reforms. “Voters spoke – and in my district, voters had a 70 percent approval rate – so to say ‘voters are damned for not knowing what they’re saying’ would be a bit egotistical of me.”
The bill appears to criminalize possession and use of marijuana, if it is not purchased from a licensed retailer. These retailers could not open until at least one full year after the date of implementation, meaning that possession would remain illegal in any circumstance.
It’s not clear when cannabis possession will be legalized under the new legislation, as there’s no requirement for retailers to obtain a license by a specific date.
The bill would increase the tax rate for marijuana sales at the point-of-sale from 10 to 15 percent, and impose a gross receipts tax of 15 percent on the cultivators. It would also fundamentally restructure tax revenue distributions by removing funding from social equity initiatives, and challenging dollars for law enforcement.
Daniel Kessler is the CEO of Ohio cannabis cultivator Riviera Creek Holding. He strongly opposes the proposed tax hike, calling it “a huge gift to the illicit market.”
He said that the regulated market is essential to the failure of the illicit market.
On Wednesday, the bill will be discussed again by the committee. At that time, members may decide to send it to a vote.
Rep. Jamie Callender, (R), filed separate legislation in the opposite chamber that would change the legalization initiative approved by voters, but would keep key elements such as home cultivation.
The lawmaker stated that the “middle-ground” is to follow what the voters and the public have told us, which is 6 plants per person, and 12 per family.
He told the Toledo Blade that “other legislation and proposals have been floating around which, in my opinion have not respected voters’ will very well.”
The bill introduced by Callender, who also introduced a bipartisan bill in this session to legalize marijuana, would prohibit the sharing of marijuana among adults, as well as giving away homegrown cannabis.
The bill also imposes a tax of 10 percent on the gross receipts of marijuana cultivators. The revenue from the cultivator’s tax would be used to create and renovate jails (36%), county sheriffs for areas where at least one cultivator is located (36%), law enforcement training (23%), and a crime victim assistance fund (5%)
The 36 percent of sales tax revenue that Issue 2 allocated for social equity programs will instead be distributed to counties to fund equity grants, a job placement programme, and “anything else that involves community engagement or economic development.”
The remaining 36 percent will go to local governments that have cannabis shops. Another 12.5% would go towards the 988 crisis and suicide lifeline.
The proposal also bans public smoking, and limits advertising similar to the way tobacco and alcohol are treated.
Callender stated that “if this passes, there will be no changes” to the provisions on possession and home-grown marijuana. No one could lose an existing right.
Karen O’Keefe is the director of state policy at the Marijuana Policy Project. She told Marijuana Moment, that Callender’s legislation “is not as outrageous as the Senate bill’s total gutting of legalization but it’s also an insult to voters.”
She said, “It criminalizes smoking a joint again, doubles the excise tax to fund jails, law enforcement and restitution justice, and redirects funding to counties.” The voters have spoken. “They want to expand justice and freedom, not restrict them.”
House Speaker Jason Stephens, a Republican who has argued that lawmakers should take more time to consider amendments to initiated statutes even if it takes longer, did not comment on the merits Callender’s Bill but stated that “we will be having discussions on that.”
He said, “There are many different ideas about this and we will continue to discuss it.”
Some Democratic lawmakers have said they are open to revisions such as allocating certain cannabis tax revenues towards K-12 education. However, supporters of the legalization initiative that was approved by the majority of voters do not want legislators to undermine the will that the majority of voters expressed.
Ohio Rep. Juanita Brent, (D), recently stressed that those who have been criminalized for marijuana, and those with industry expertise , should be included in any efforts to amend Ohio’s voter approved legalization law. She argued that it shouldn’t just be up to the “anti-cannabis’ legislators to revise this statute.
Rep. Gary Click filed a bill last week to allow local municipalities to ban the use of and home cultivation cannabis within their jurisdictions. It would also revise distribution of state marijuana tax revenues by, for instance, shifting funds from social equity programs and jobs to law enforcement training.
Rep. Cindy Abrams, (R), also introduced a Bill last month to revise marijuana law. 40 million dollars in cannabis tax money would be used annually for law enforcement training.
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The Ohio Department of Commerce published a FAQ guide to inform residents about the new law, including the timeline for its implementation. Regulators have repeatedly stated that policies could change depending on the actions of the legislature.
The prohibitionist organizations who campaigned against Issue 2 are now determined to undermine the newly passed law. Some have even described plans to pressurize the legislature into repealing legalization completely before it is implemented.
In September, several Ohio legislators said that they did not believe the legislature would repeal a legalization law passed by voters. The Senate President confirmed that repeal was not on the agenda for the foreseeable future.
The issue was only decided by the voters after the lawmakers refused to use the opportunity of passing their own reform during the ballot qualification procedure. The legislature had months to pass a legalization they could have tailored to address any outstanding concerns. However, the legislature deferred this decision to the voters.
The GOP-controlled Senate, which was responsible for the early voting that began in October, passed a Resolution encouraging residents to reject Measure.
Rep. Dave Joyce, the co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus said in September that he will vote in favor of this initiative in November. He encouraged “all Ohio citizens to take part and make their voices known on this important matter.”
Sherrod Brown, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (D-OH), said that he voted for the ballot initiative in late October. He called it a hard decision but one based on the belief that this reform would promote “safety” for consumers.
Vivek RAMASWAMY, a Republican presidential candidate for 2024, has said that he voted against the ballot initiative to legalize cannabis in Ohio, because he is concerned that the federal government may “weaponize criminalization” against people who engage in state-legal marijuana activities under the “fake pretense” they are protected from federal prosecution.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) said that Ohio’s decision to legalize cannabis at the ballot was just one of many recent examples of Americans rejecting “MAGA extremeism,”. He added that he is committed to working on a bipartisan level “to continue moving forward on bipartisan marijuana legislation as soon we can.”
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus told Marijuana Moment that “the Ohio vote was a big exclamation mark on the things we have been talking about.”
We’ve been saying this for years, that the issue is gaining momentum and that it’s inclusive. He said that it was similar to the success of the [Ohio] abortion rights issue, except this was more pronounced. “We received more votes than abortion.” “We get more votes than anyone on the ballot.”
The White House said separately that “nothing has shifted” with President Joe Biden’s stance on cannabis. They declined to state if they supported Ohio’s decision to legalize marijuana or if they backed further reforms of federal cannabis laws.
According to preliminary results of county elections, while Ohio voters approved the statewide legalization of marijuana, activists scored a number of small victories to criminalize higher amounts of cannabis in 3 Ohio cities.
Six Governors push Biden to ensure Marijuana is rescheduled by the end of this year
Photo by Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
The post Ohio Senates Testify on Controversial Marijuana Reform Overhaul as House Republican Files an Alternative Bill first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
